


Curse the Dragon

by Frill



Series: Merlin Curses [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur tries his best, Canon is literally not even known to me, Gen, Gwaine is Living, Gwen had a crush but shes still a good friend, Lancelot is the closest thing Merlin has to a therapist, Merlin stops giving a fuck, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Mordred is shocked, Time Travel, Uther is non existant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25798477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frill/pseuds/Frill
Summary: The Knights of the Roundtable accidentally get dragged back in time to Season 1 of Merlin.Mostly they're just baffled.Merlin is trying, okay, but he's annoyed at Arthur and still recovering from dragon speak.
Relationships: Gwen & Merlin (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Lancelot & Merlin (Merlin)
Series: Merlin Curses [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2131950
Comments: 5
Kudos: 314





	Curse the Dragon

The knights were further up the trail than Arthur and Merlin. The king and his manservant were arguing about servant pay. None of the knights would butt in. Either because they didn't want to get between the two, or because they had no idea how to add to the conversation.

Then, out of nowhere, Merlin started to look around. Arthur noticed it, like the amazing king he was.

"Hear a rabbit in the bushes, Merlin?" he asked.

Merlin turned from him in annoyance but kept his eyes surveying the surroundings. 

Gwaine, ever the man, said, "It's not bandits, is it?"

Elyan snorted. "No, no. It's Morgana."

"Incorrect," said Lancelot, "it's a beast with sharp talons."

Mordred added, "Maybe an assassin."

Leon sighed. "Please don't jinx it."

Arthur looked at his knights in confusion. He asked, "Is there some sort of inside joke going on?"

Percival looked at the blond. He spoke, "Sire, every time Merlin gets a feeling, he's right. Something bad happens every time."

Arthur squawked. "It does not! He gets a bad feeling every five minutes." 

Merlin glared at the king. "An oaf like you wouldn't notice."

Arthur replied, "And a farm boy like you could never believe the skills I have."

"Ah, trained since birth to kill, huh. Haven't heard that in a while."

Arthur replied, "At least no one else here was arrested moments after coming to Camelot."

Gwaine raised his eyebrows in amusement. Merlin… arrested? What for? He noticed that the other knights had turned to Leon for answers, though the head knight offered not a thing.

"You're the one that chased me with a mace. Gwen still teases me about it. It's been years!" said Merlin.

"Those were the days, weren't they," Arthur replied. "You were in the stocks, I was still respected by my servants, and Gaius didn't yell at me every week." 

"You deserve his eyebrow look."

Gwaine whispered, "What is happening?" The other knights agreed. 

Mordred asked loudly, "Do you think we can get a move on? I'd like to get home before dark."

Arthur shuffled. "Let's move on, men."

Merlin frowned. He didn't like it. 

And, of course, Merlin was right. The knights walked into a trap. Merlin held Arthur back from the circle that lit underneath their feet. 

The knights barely noticed anything was wrong until they turned around to see no Merlin or Arthur. 

Gwaine said nonchalantly, "Magic?"

Leon sighed. "Probably," he answered.

"To Camelot first?" asked Percival.

"Yeah," Leon confirmed. "We're almost there. We'll ask Gaius what to do."

For about an hour, they walked. Honestly, they were too used to everything going wrong at this point. They made it to the castle, getting many strange looks along the way.  
They went to undress their chainmail and lay down their weapons. It was then they ran into Merlin.

Leon called out, "Merlin, is everything alright?" 

The Merlin that looked up to them from sharpening a sword was very different. Younger, for one. Naive-looking, too.

The ravenette looked spooked. He flailed a tad, setting the sword down with a clang. Odd, but it could just be because they went missing or something.

Merlin stood up. Be replied, "Is something wrong… sir?"

"Uh," said Leon eloquently, "no. Thanks for your time." 

Leon quickly turned around and grabbed onto Gwaine to do the same. The knights turned to go, but one was left behind. Lancelot didn't escape the room. 

Merlin looked at Lancelot strangely. "What are you going here?" he asked.

Lancelot shut the door. He stepped closer. He backed Merlin into the corner. Merlin was very weirded out.

Lancelot exhaled, "Magic. Something with magic. Have you done anything?"

Merlin stuttered, "Uh… no? Never. I've been, uhm, busy. In fact, I recently got back from visiting my mother."

"Oh," said Lancelot. "That's nice. How is Hunith?"

Merlin gave him a suspicious look. "Did I tell you her name?"

"No. You didn't, I don't believe. A future you might have, though. Time travel. Yep. Normal. Is Gaius around?"

Merlin paused. 

"Time travel?"

"Mmn."

"Is the future shit, then? Did I fail my destiny?"

"No," Lancelot said firmly. "You're doing great. Arthur's king, in fact." 

"That's good. Really good. He's a prat, but I'm starting to like him." 

Lancelot gave a comforting pat. "You're great, Merlin, no matter what the bloody dragon says."

"You know about the dragon?" he asked meekly.

"I know everything," Lancelot confirmed. 

Merlin bit his lip. He asked hesitantly, "Can you meet me in my room tonight? After dinner. Or we can eat dinner together? I need your opinion on something."

"I'll be there," Lancelot promised.

There was a pregnant silence.

Merlin asked, "Were the others also time travelers?" 

"Uh, yeah. We're all friends. You're a very good friend to them, and vice versa. We have a lot of fun." 

"Cool. Cool. Cool. Totally normal."

"It kind of is."

Merlin screamed internally. The future might not be shit, but it was definitely bizarre.

Merlin said, "Okay. I'm guessing Sir… Leon? Is that his name? Is from the future, but his current counterpart is still out there. He's, uh, out on a quest, I think. If he's seen, it could be bad. You might want to find him a disguise… and the others, are they current knights?”

“Nope. The rest shouldn’t be anywhere near here.”

“That’s good, I think.”

“Yep.”

“....”

“How long ago was the griffin attack? I assume that’s what you know me from.”

“Oh,” said Merlin, “a few months ago. A lot’s happened since then, but, uh, it’s nice knowing that you know stuff.”

“Stuff,” Lancelot repeated.

“Yeah.”

Lancelot sighed. He put the sword Merlin had out away carefully before getting out of his chainmail. Once he was dressed down and looked more like an average citizen of Camelot, he peeked his head outside of the room.

Lancelot called out to the waiting future knights of Camelot, “Get changed, quickly.”

The rest of the knights rushed in. They undressed while Merlin stood next to Lancelot in the corner. 

Merlin commented, “They’re much better at this step than Arthur.”

“He kinda gets better at it, but don’t expect much,” replied Lancelot. The two exchanged a grin.

Gwaine, now looking more peasant-like, announced, “So, where are we? And why is Merlin acting different?”

“Time travel,” Lancelot supplied.

“Time travel,” Mordred repeated.

“Time travel.”

Leon said, “Could be worse, I guess. Everyone’s alive.”

Merlin said awkwardly, “You don’t know that.” Heads swooshed to him. “I- I mean, technically your past counterparts could be dead. Or by meeting your counterparts you rip apart the universe.”

“Such a downer,” complained Percival with a teasing tone.

“Cheer up, Merlin,” said Gwaine, “you got a bunch of knights around to send back home.”

Merlin’s frown increased. He exited without a witty remark. 

The knights turned to Lancelot for answers. Lancelot shook his head. He didn’t know everything, clearly, but he could pretend to for a while if it helped Merlin.

As they cleared out of the room, dressed as peasants, Lancelot remarked, “We need to get Leon a hat. He’s supposedly out on a quest. It’d be weird if he was around.”  
With that, they made their way to Gaius’s. 

They were just about to get to the physicians when Gwen came down the hallway. She carried a few herbs in a basket, and had an extra bump in her step. She paused when she saw them moments from the door.

Gwen asked, “Are any of you injured?”

“Just visiting,” replied Percival calmly.

“Oh,” she said, “Gaius or Merlin?”

“Both.”

“Well, come on, then, get in.”

The group was ushered inside. Gwen followed after them. She laid the basket full of herbs down onto a table just as Gaius turned around. Merlin came out of his room with a book that most of them hadn’t seen before. 

Gaius still looked a tad confused. He asked, “Are you sick? If so, please sit down.”

“Gaius, these are the time travelers,” Merlin reminded quietly.

“Oh, right. Of course. Sit down anyway.”

The knights did as instructed. Gwen furrowed her brow in confusion when she saw Lancelot and Elyan. Leon wasn’t too odd to be around. The others she didn’t recognize.

“Did you say time travel?” asked Gwen.

Merlin moved to stand beside her, the book plopping right in front of them. 

He answered, “Yep. It was apparently magic, meaning only magic can reverse it.”

“Magic,” Gwen said hesitantly.

“Been happening a lot around here, huh.”

“Yes,” she confirmed. After a moment she said, “Is that why Elyan is here? And Lancelot too?”

“Apparently they’re knights.”

“Knights?”

“And Arthur’s king.”

“Woah.”

“Yeah.”

Gwen asked, “Think he’s any good at it? You said he still needs help picking out a shirt.”

“I mean, Lancelot was knighted, so he must be somewhat good,” Merlin replied.

“Right…”

Gaius raised his brows towards them. They shushed immediately.

“Now,” announced Gaius, “what were you all doing at the time you noticed something was wrong?”

Leon answered, “We were returning from a patrol. It was a short-lived patrol, and only lasted a couple of days. Things were too quiet, you see. Anyway, we were walking, and then suddenly Arthur and Merlin weren’t behind us anymore. We decided to come here and get help.”

“Instead we learned we time traveled,” added Mordred. “Very complicated. Only someone with a lot of power can do that.”

Gaius agreed with a hum. “Very powerful and high level. Perhaps Nimueh?” He turned to Merlin. “She could be responsible.”

Lancelot chimed in, “She’s dead.”

“Oh,” said Gaius, “I guess not her then. Are there any other high priestess around?”

“Yes.”

“Explain?”

“If we tell her identity, things may go wrong.”

“I know that boy,” said Gaius. “Tell me about her level. Has she done complicated magic before? Does she have the resources?”

“She could,” answered Leon. “We believe she has a spy within our midst, but we are unable to figure it out.”

Gaius hummed. He turned to Merlin once more. “See if you can find anything in your book. If not, go to the library. I’ll talk to Uther on the matter.”

Gaius began to move when Lancelot stopped him. Gaius raised his eyebrow at the other.

“Please don’t. It won’t look good upon Arthur. Can we keep this a secret?”

Gaius looked at the knights. He swayed on his side a tad.

“Fine,” the physician answered. “But one of you must clean out the leech tank while Merlin searches.”

Merlin beamed. The knights revolted. In the end, Elyan was offered up. Gaius showed him to the tank. His sacrifice was greatly loved.

Meanwhile, Gwen looked at the book Merlin was flipping through. It was odd. The other knights noticed it too, but stayed in their seats in fear that Gaius would have a chore for them to do.

Gwen voiced, “What language is that?”

“Latin,” the manservant replied casually.

“Oh. I didn’t know you could read Latin.”

“It’s weird.”

“I could only imagine.”

“Mmn.”

Gwen bit her lip. She asked, “Is it magic?”

“Yeah,” Merlin confirmed. If anyone noticed his grip tighten around the edges of the paper, no one said a word.

“Fight magic with magic?”

“Like I said, it’s becoming a normal thing.”

“And if Uther found out?”

“He’d most likely chop off all our heads.”

“Huh. Quite a risk taker, then?”

Merlin replied, “Always.” He then dove more into his book as Gwen looked at him with a smile etched on her face.

“Oh my god,” whispered Gwaine to the knights. “Guinevere has a crush on Merlin.”

“The Queen had a crush on Merlin,” Percival echoed.

“Arthur’s wife and servant had an affair,” Mordred added.

“Oh my god. Leon. Why didn’t you tell us?” Gwaine asked.

Leon sighed at them. “Nothing came of it. It was mostly one-sided, anyway. Merlin was oblivious.”

The knights turned to the two servants. Gwen was quite close to Merlin as he continued with whatever magic thing he was reading.

“Yep, I believe it. Not far-fetched at all.”

Percival added, “So obvious.”

“Kind of cute,” Mordred commented. “Two servants fall in love.”

“A king and a servant is more legendary,” Leon said.

Elyan returned with small round marks along his cheeks. He sat down with a large thump and a glare. Gwen looked over, then, and let out a giggle. Merlin looked up and seemed smug. 

Elyan asked, “What are we whispering about?”

“Just that Gwen has a crush on Merlin,” replied Gwaine.

“Oh. That. I knew. She has one on Lancelot later.”

“You’re taking this too well. Merlin could be you in-law.”

Elyan shrugged. “Both options I’m fine with.” 

It was then that stomps could be heard. Everyone’s head jerked towards the door where a prince entered. Without looking up, he yelled, “Merlin, you were supposed to be… oh. Is there a sickness going around? Do we have to torch a creature again? Poison? Raiders?”

“Just a classic case of time travel, sire,” Merlin replied with a whim.

“Oh. Okay. You’re busy then… Time travel?” questioned Arthur.

“Yeah. ‘Parently you’re king and you let them fall into a sorcerer’s trap. It sent them back in time.”

Arthur looked abashed. He inspected the men. “Nope. Only a few of them have noble traits. It’s not allowed.”

“Again, I said you’re the king in their future.”

At that, Arthur widened his eyes. He awed quietly, “Commoners are allowed to be knighted?”

“Your rules.” Merlin shrugged casually. He closed the book in front of him and sighed. “I’m going to the library to see if Geoffrey has anything magic related on hand.”

Arthur processed his words, then yelped, “Everything magic related was burned.”

“Don’t believe everything your daddy tells you, prat,” Merlin replied with a tone most knights hadn’t heard from him, even in the future. He left the physicians quarters with a slight slam of the door.

Arthur winced noticeably. Gwen didn’t seem too put-off. In fact, Gwen seemed to agree with Merlin.

Gwen greeted, “Sire.”

Arthur looked at her. “Yes?”

Gwen sighed. “Your knights need help to return home. It’s believed a high priestess, meaning someone incredibly powerful in magic, performed the spell. We’ll need someone with equal power to reverse it… or so we think.”

“Magic is outlawed,” the prince stated bluntly.

“Do you want your future, loyal knights not to return home? Some king you are.”

Arthur blanched. He turned to her. “Guinevere, I only did what was right.”

“That man was Merlin’s best friend. He saved everyone, and you burned him.”

“He was a sorcerer.”

“And not just that, you lit him up when he was already dying from protecting you.”

Gwen left after her last burst. 

Arthur looked lost and confused. He turned to the knights.

He said, “So you all know what happened, don’t you? The future and all.”

“Say it in your own words, sire,” urged Leon gracefully.

Arthur sighed a heaved breath. “I burned Merlin’s best friend at the stake because he was a sorcerer. It started with raiders, and a good mission to help Merlin out. We went. Morgana, Guinevere, and I, and helped defeat the raiders with Merlin. But then Merlin’s best friend did magic, and by law he had to be burned.”

“Ouch,” commented Gwaine. “No wonder they hate you.”

Arthur blubbered on before moving past it.

“How am I supposed to help with this situation? Where’s Gaius?”

“He said something about collecting ingredients,” said Elyan.

Leon moved forward. “Sire, you can help us by keeping our identities a secret. We, uh, would like you not to tell your father about any of this.”

“Not tell my father,” Arthur repeated. “Why not?”

Merlin chose than time to walk in. He had a stack of fancy-looking books with him.

Merlin said, “Cause it would make you look bad.”

“Didn’t know you cared, Merlin,” the blond replied.

Merlin didn’t reply. Instead, he unstacked the books and looked over their titles. All seemed to be in Latin.

Merlin asked the room, “How many of you can read Latin?”

Leon was the only one who stepped forward. A moment later Gwaine did also. 

“Great,” said Merlin, “help me find the right spell.” He handed out two books to them each. “Nice to have some help that’s not Gaius and his judging eyebrows. Just remember not to say any of the words out loud, and you’ll be fine.”

Leon looked down to his books. He seemed hesitant.

“These are spell books,” the head-knight said.

“Yep. Lancelot said you all are from the future, so you all should know things. How you survive without any magic information is practically impossible. Everything magical has to be killed with magic.”

“They didn’t know that part, Merlin,” said Lancelot.

“Oh.” Merlin swayed foot to foot. “Well, I’m sure you can help anyways. Cabbage-head, can you read Latin or not?” He looked at Arthur.

“I can read it,” he confirmed.

“Then help,” Merlin heaved. He gave the smallest book to the prince. “For your tiny brain.”

“You can’t talk to me like that,” said Arthur.

Merlin rolled his eyes and started on his stack of 4 books. Percival, Lancelot, Mordred, and Elyan sat awkwardly. Eventually Merlin gave them an unimpressed look. Lancelot stood up and got closer to where Merlin was stationed.

Lancelot said, “Any ideas how to get back?”

Merlin sat up.

“Maybe,” he replied. “Usually there has to be some sort of beacon, or, well, a magical object that helps move the process along. And Gaius mentioned that pentagrams are how people travel to the future, so we may be looking for one of those.”

“A pentagram?” questioned Gwaine. He flipped his book pages to them. “Like this?”

Merlin took the book from Gwaine quickly, almost running to get it. He nodded along, reading the language and diagrams quickly.

Merlin said, “This is probably what sent you here.” He flipped the pages. “Yes. This is how to reverse it. Let’s hope it’s doable. If it requires a sacrifice… which it does not, great. Let’s do it.”

“You seem to know a lot about magic,” said Elyan.

Merlin shrugged. “When you’re born with uncontrollable magic, you do what you can.”

Silence. Complete silence.

“What?” asked Arthur quietly.

Merlin flickered his eyes up. He said, “I admitted it to the court when Gwen was accused, and no one believed me. It’s not my fault for that, now is it?”

Everyone was speechless. The only sound was Merlin flipping pages and Lancelot trying to contain his laughs.

“You have magic?”

Merlin looked at the knights. All of them, including Arthur. “Yes. I thought that was fairly obvious, seeing as I had a spell book in my room. Catch up, will you? If I’m still alive in the future, I’m sure people have accepted it. I bet that dragon was wrong.”

“Dragon,” said Leon. “You know the dragon?”

“The one underneath the castle? Yeah. Annoying. Always talking about killing Uther. Incredibly cryptic too. Worst dragon ever. Always talking into my mind.”

Gwaine asked excitingly, “You know a dragon?”

“He’s horrible,” said Merlin. “Says there’s a prophecy about Arthur becoming the greatest king ever in history, talks about how this one kid, Mordred, is destined to kill him, and that Morgana is a witch that I’m doomed to kill.”

The knights hushed at that.

Lancelot said, “Merlin, we’ve talked about this, the dragon fucked you up. Don’t believe everything it says.”

“It’s, like, a million years old and sees into the future. How am I supposed to annoy him?” asked Merlin in outrage. “He says all of these things I hate to do, but it’s all bullshit. But I can’t get him to leave me alone. Did you know he and druids can talk into your mind? Horrible, right?”

“Very horrible,” Lancelot said blandly. “But, Merlin, the future's looking good. You did good.”

Merlin rolled his eyes towards the book.

“I did great alright,” he said. “I let my friends fall into a trap. Great. Such a good warlock I am.”

“You’re an amazing warlock,” Lancelot said firmly. “The best around.”

“Can- Can we get back to how I’m supposed to kill Arthur?” asked Mordred in worry.

Merlin looked spooked once more as he laid eyes upon the youngest knight.

“Yikes,” commented Gwaine.

Merlin looked very awkward. Usually Merlin was somewhat confident, so it was strange to see.

Merlin answered, “The druid boy Mordred is supposedly destined to kill Arthur, so, uh, I, uh, gave up after I learned that. It’s my destiny to protect Arthur, so I had to choose.”  
Mordred processed the words quietly while Arthur seemed to roar with fire.

Arthur asked, “Your destiny? Your destiny is to protect me? You’re just a servant.” His voice was laced with confusion. 

Merlin huffed.

Mordred was the one who spoke up. He said, “Sire, please calm down. Emrys shouldn’t be undermined.”

“Emrys?” echoed Percival in awe. He turned to Mordred. “Are you saying Merlin is Emrys.”

“Uh, yeah. Thought that was obvious.”

“Who exactly is Emrys?” asked Elyan.

“The most powerful sorcerer that will ever walk upon Earth,” the druid answered.

“Uh, really?” asked Merlin. “You sure about that? Completely sure?”

“Uhm, yep. Pretty sure. You’re the most powerful sorcerer, and Arthur will be the greatest king time will ever know.”

“Fuck that,” Merlin whispered as he looked down to the book from his chair. He was pointedly ignoring everyone else.

“What the hell?” questioned Arthur. The rest in the room agreed with his sentiment.

Gwen entered moments later. Gaius followed behind her. Merlin showed Gaius the book. They conversed quietly for a few moments.

Gaius announced a bit later, “The spell might not work, but we’ll try. Arthur, please step away from our time travelers.”

Arthur did as instructed. Gaius looked at him approvingly. He started to grind a few things together when he had a look come across his face.

Gaius asked, “No secrets of the future or past were revealed, correct?”

Silence.

Gaius sighed. He stopped mixing and turned his eyebrows on everyone.

“You ruined the timeline then. This spell is useless. I should have mentioned that before.” 

“You think?” asked Arthur.

“Not now, boy,” Gaius commented. “I need to warn you all of what will come.”

“What will come?” asked Leon.

Gaius straightened up. “The timeline will try to repair itself.”

Then the world was lit in a bright light. 

Leon opened his eyes to Gareth and Bors looking at him strangely. They were younger, so he was obviously still in the past. Leon stood up.

Bors said, “Worried us there for a moment. Fell off your horse. You alright?”

“Fine,” Leon replied. “How far away from Camelot are we, again?”

“A couple days' ride,” Gareth said. He looked forlorn. “The quest was a fail. No monsters to slay.”

“Probably a good thing,” said Bors.

“Yes,” Leon agreed. “A good thing.”

Quietly, like a nagging in the back of his head, Leon wondered what the hell was happening. He wasn’t the only one. The rest of the so-called time travelers were in similar situations.

**Author's Note:**

> So, uh,,,,,, canon is no more.


End file.
